Illinois and California are the two worst states in the nation for fiscal shape, and Illinois and Louisiana are the two worst states for government corruption.
Illinois leads all states for the highest taxes paid per resident, at $7,700 per year. And Illinois has the second highest property taxes, behind only New Jersey.
To put that per capita tax figure into perspective, while Illinois has the highest taxes per resident it’s 16th in per capita income.
Chicago has the highest sales tax in the nation, doesn’t have the power to impose an income tax, and is nearing the end of its authority to increase property taxes. Illinois is at or near the bottom when it comes to the state’s share of education spending which means that our system is rigged against poor kids. Illinois also has the worst or near the worst return in federal spending to federal taxes paid.
There is something we do lead the nation in: the percentage of Illinoisans who leave every year for another state.
And, what party has been at the helm of Illinois policy-making all these years? Currently, you have a republican governor. However, even you have implied he will last only one term. Most problems are due to bad governance, which is directly tied to what party’s ideology is directing legislative traffic in the state.